My mom doesn’t like tomato sauce. She likes tomatoes just fine, but she doesn’t put red sauce on her pasta or serve tomato soup with her grilled cheese. So I wasn’t introduced to grilled cheese with tomato soup until high school. I love it. This week, we decided to see if we would make it from scratch, and it was great.
The grilled cheese is really simple. You’ll need some good bread (we used Madison Sourdough’s White) and some good cheese (I’d recommend cheddar. Organic Valley’s Raw Milk Cheddar was a little too sharp—I think I’ll try the mild next time). Slice the cheese. Melt the cheese onto bread using your favorite method. I can’t seem to be able to fry a cheese sandwich without making it overly greasy or burnt, so I decided I would microwave them. (Yes, I realize it makes no sense to go through the trouble of making tomato soup from scratch and then microwave the grilled cheese, but after several failed attempts, I just wanted it to turn out well.) In 20 seconds, I had a couple open-faced cheese sandwiches, the chewy texture of the bread was maintained, and I increased the total soup-dipping surface area. Not bad!
Here’s the recipe for the soup. It’s much more complicated than combining Campbell’s and water, but it’s definitely worth it. Adapted from Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup.
- Tomato Soup
- 2 28-ounce cans of tomatoes, packed in juice (not puree)
- 1½ tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large shallots
- 1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste, which usually comes in a tube (you can also just use a tablespoon of canned tomato paste)
- a pinch of ground allspice
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1¾ cups chicken stock (recommended are boxes by Swanson, Better than Bouillon, and Imagine brands)
- ½ cup heavy cream (we get ours from a local farm)
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Drain the tomatoes, saving 3 cups of the liquid. Use your finger to remove any clumps of seeds. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on the foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with the 1½ tablespoons of dark brown sugar. Bake until all the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and mince the shallots. Wait until the tomatoes have about 10 minutes of cooking time left before you proceed. Place a nonreactive (that means not aluminum or cast iron) saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter foams, add the shallots, the tablespoon of tomato paste, and the pinch of allspice. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the shallots are softened.
- Add the flour and stir for about 30 seconds, until thoroughly combined. Whisking constantly, gradually add the 1¾ cups of chicken stock. Stir in the reserved tomato liquid. Peel the roasted tomatoes off the foil and add them. Cover and increase the heat to medium. When boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
- Strain the mixture and rinse out the saucepan. Add solids to blender and top with a cup of the liquid. Puree until smooth and add to the remaining liquid.
- At this point, if you are eating all the soup at once, mix in the cream and serve. For leftovers, keep the soup and cream separate until serving. After reheating the soup, stir in the cream.
